Chris Christie's landslide reelection win has landed him on the cover of Time—and that cover has landed Time in hot water. That's because over a silhouette of the governor, the magazine went with the headline "The Elephant in the Room." Which, Mediaite notes, is a triple-pun, referencing Christie's party, his uneasy relationship with that party, and—cue the controversy—his weight. The Internet swiftly delivered its trademark outrage party. Some highlights:
- "Coming in early 2016: A jumbo-sized victory," quips Hot Air, which notes that this is Time's second problematic Christie cover; an earlier one, reading simply "The Boss," raised ire, because some complained that it evoked the mafia.
- "TIME MAGAZINE EDITOR is SLIMY SNAKE!" Greta Van Susteren of Fox News said in a tweet spotted by USA Today. Conservative talk host David Webb said the cover "mocks" Christie's weight, asking "Is this acceptable to Americans?"
- Time alum Karen Tumulty tweeted, "Love my old employer, but this cover line is lazy, stupid." Later she added, "In my experience, they go for whatever they think will sell. But Christie cover line in puerile."
- Other Twitter reactions included, "Bipartisan ban on fat jokes, please," (link) "Congrats to @Time magazine for hiring Richie Incognito to write their cover headlines!!" (link) and this conservative parody cover. "Imagine if that were an overweight woman candidate with that elephant headline? Despicable," another Twitter user added, in response to Buzzfeed's writeup.
Of course, the uproar serves to keep Christie's name on the front burner, an effort he'll continue this weekend,
Politico observes, by hitting four of the five Sunday shows to discuss his win. He'll also guest star on the
Michael J. Fox Show. (More
Chris Christie stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
